Oligomyrmex (Oligomyrmex) angolensis Santschi

Major - Minor - Type location Angola (Santschi, 1914d: 358, illustrated, major & minor); subspecies congolensis from Zaïre (by H. Kohl, in Forel, 1916: 417, major & minor); major & minor described (see Bolton, 1995) .

Santschi's (1914d) description is at .

Weber (1950a: 4) had the following translation (amended by me) -
MAJOR (after SANTSCHI): TL 0.9-1 mm. Head rectangular, a fourth longer than broad, with sides a little convex and occipital margin slightly emarginate; eyes of one facet, a little in front of the middle of the sides; clypeus bicarinate, emarginate in the middle of the anterior border, convex; scape slightly surpassing the middle of the head, antennal segments 3 to 7 slightly broader than long, the terminal segment as long as the six preceding when taken together; mandibles four-toothed. Pro-mesonotum globose, a little longer than broad, with the pro-mesonotal suture little distinct; metanotal suture very impressed; basal face (of propodeum) marginate, concave and enlarged behind, slightly longer than broad, terminating in two teeth as long as a fourth their interval, broad at their base; declivity strongly marginate, concave. Petiole a little lower than long, the node rounded at the summit, almost twice as broad as long. Post-petiolar summit slightly broader than the petiole but only a fourth shorter than broad. Gaster short, emarginate at each side of the pedicel. Very near to Oligomyrmex alluaudi and jeanneli, but the first has a shorter head and the second has the sculpture more smooth. Mandibles, middle of the clypeus, occiput, mesonotum and propodeum, summit of the nodes, and gaster smooth and shining; head and remainder of the thorax matt and punctate; head also densely and very finely striate longitudinally with the base of the striations more shining and less punctate in front of the cheeks and clypeus than behind; striations at the sides of the head more or less anastomosing. Pilosity of a few long hairs on the body and a pubescence distributed chiefly on the appendages and the head. Reddish yellow, head more reddish, gaster brownish yellow, legs and antennae yellow.
WORKER (after SANTSCHI): TL 0.8 mm. Head a little longer than broad, longer than in alluaudi and less enlarged behind; the scape nearly attains the posterior fourth of the head; mandibles of four teeth. Thorax broad in front and more marginate than in alluaudi; basal face of the propodeum clearly broader than long, with the teeth moderate, somewhat broader at the base than long. Petiole a little longer than high and a little broader at the summit than in alluaudi; postpetiole rounded, narrower. Head, propodeum, and sides of the petiole matt, densely and finely reticulate-punctate, the remainder smooth and shining. Reddish yellow.
TYPE LOCALITY; Quifangondo, Angola.

Oligomyrmex angolensis subsp. congolensis Forel

Forel's (1916) description of congolensis is at .

MAJOR (after FOREL): TL 1.4-1.5 mm. A little larger than the type, similar form of the head, but the latter has a very small carina on each side at the occiput. Clypeus strongly emarginate at the middle of the anterior border but without lateral carinae sketched and described by Santschi in the type. The extremity of the scape scarcely surpasses the middle of the head. Thorax scarcely as impressed. Propodeal teeth shorter than in those of the type, small and triangular. Head subopaque and densely striate anteriorly; rest of body shining and little sculptured. Dull, dirty yellow, head yellowish brown) antennae and legs yellow.
WORKER (after FOREL): TL 0.9 mm. Antennal scape attains the posterior fourth of the head; metanotal suture a little deeper and propodeal teeth stronger than in the soldier. Petiole thicker and more rounded above than in the soldier, where its node appears higher and more compressed than in the type. Head matt, a little more reticulate and less striate than in the soldier. Uniformly yellow with a touch of russet except for yellow legs.
TYPE LOCALITY: Congo (Kohl).

Nigeria specimens (Oligomyrmex (Oligomyrmex) species B, Taylor, 1980a: 37)

Major TL 1.43 mm, HL 0.51, HW 0.44, SL 0.23, PW 0.23; Minor (not drawn) TL 0.86.

Colour darkish yellow-brown.

Major head unsculptured except for fine rugae on the dorsum; lateral pronotum smooth; lateral mesonotum and propodeum finely punctate. Erect hairs relatively sparse; head with very sparse pilosity. Eye minute. Antennae 9-segmented. Propodeal spines minute and triangular forming the upper end of flanges on the lower half of the lateral propodeum.

Minor sculpturation similar but head reticulopunctate.

Collected at the Cocoa Research Instutute of Nigeria, Idi Ayunre, from a dead log, by B. Bolton.

Also found in Ghana in cocoa leaf litter at the Mampong Cemetery farm (Room, 1971).

May be O. angolensis subspecies congolensis

The photomontage is of a specimen from Gabon, Pongara National Park; 27.vi-10.vii.2006; Winkler funnel of leaf litter; collected by Yves Braet. Other images can be seen in the folder at -